1. Field of Invention
The invention generally is related to the area of computer video gaming, and more particularly related to game controllers with full functionalities, where a game controller as designed is preferably independently operable in one hand and fully functions without any attachments or dongles. In one application, two game controllers as designed may be used respectively in two hands, the present invention is further related to techniques for distinguishing which hand is holding which controller when two of the controllers are being held by a user. The use of two controllers may be applied to a classic control by one user, one or two handed freeform motion control by one user, or a one-handed freeform motion control by two users. To allow the controller to work with existing game systems, techniques are also provided for the compatibility between two different controllers.
2. Related Art
A game controller is a user interactive controlling device to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a video game or an entertainment. Such a controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection. Controllers which have been classified as games controllers are keyboards, mice, game pads, joysticks, etc. Special purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns for shooting games, are also game controllers.
The Nintendo Wii Remote™ wireless controller and the Playstation Move™ controller are examples of the most recent state of the art in user interactive controllers for computer display game systems. They are movable wireless remote controllers to be held in hands of users. They both come with other peripheral attachments and controllers that help correct for control deficiencies. The Wii Remote uses built-in accelerometers to sense and measure movements of the hand of a player. It includes an infrared sensitive camera which can be pointed at an LED sensor bar placed near a TV to obtain some positional information in a 3D space. This design allows users to control a game using physical gestures, pointing, and traditional button presses. The controller connects to a console using Bluetooth and features a “rumble pack”, that can cause the controller to vibrate, as well as an internal speaker to generate various sounds. As a user moves the controller in reacting to a display, the controller transmits sensor data to the console via conventional short range wireless RF transmissions. One expansion device for the Wii Remote is the Wii Motion Plus. The Motion Plus adds a gyroscope sensor to the Wii Remote, giving a total of six independent sources of position and orientation information. The Playstation Move is similar in many regards to the Wii Remote plus Wii Motion Plus.
These types of controllers, however, are limited in the functionality they provide. The Wii and Playstation3 game systems may have recognized the strong value in providing players with an analog stick for more natural control of movement or camera pointing. However, neither system seems to have surmounted the challenges involved with providing this functionality for their independently operable motion controller. So both systems are being shipped with an additional controller with an analog stick. These additional devices are wired or externally attached to the primary controller. For the Nintendo Wii, this additional device is called: Nunchuk. For the Sony Playstation3, this additional device is called: Sub. More broadly, players today either have access to a one-handed limited freeform motion game control modality, or a dual analog stick “classic” control modality (like the Playstation 2 dual-shock controller, or similar controllers for the Gamecube, or the Xbox), or a highly constrained non-freeform (i.e. wired) mix of the two approaches.
There are at least two key challenges in providing game controllers that are fully functional freeform controllers, meaning that they are: independently operable; motion sensitive; able to support motion recognition and motion tracking for one or both hands; and carry a full complement of buttons, triggers and analog sticks.
First, both children and adults (with child- or adult-sized hands) must be able to comfortably hold and operate the control affordances available on the controller, with either the left or the right hand.
Second, the system must make it hard or impossible to confuse which controllers are in which hands or with which people to avoid frequent player frustration. For example, if a player is holding two identical controllers, one in each hand, and puts them down for a moment, how often will they pick up the wrong controller when they come back to the game? If the wrong hand picks up the wrong controller, the motion control results would be subtly wrong since, for example, the inertial data corresponding to a left-handed motion will not match that for a corresponding right-handed motion. The resulting frustration would be analogous to having a TV remote control that works incorrectly half the time you pick it up. Although most game controllers today make it clear which controller is connected to which port with an LED on the controller, none solves the significant technical problem of automatically detecting and displaying which hand is operating which controller in real time without user intervention.
The teachings in the present invention resolve the technical hurdles and detail the first fully-functional free-form motion controllers for games. Players have the full freedom to use both hands independently for motion control games with no constraints between them. The same controllers allow any form of one-handed operation and also support two-handed Halo-style classic controls. The system can automatically detect which controller belongs to which player and which hand, and report that to the player. There is significant value in providing new control interfaces for the video gaming industry and other areas requiring interactive controls.